Inspired by the really good tasting la la I had at Restoran Stadium Negara recently, I thought maybe I could replicate the Stir-Fried La La with Garlic & Chillies at home. So, I went searching to buy some good la la (hopefully). It's not something that's always available at the wet market I go to (+ I don't go often) and when it's available, it may not always be at its freshest.
I recently came across Barang Dapur Basah (BDB), through Shopee Live, selling all kinds of fresh seafood. The good thing about buying through that platform is that you can see the items you want to buy live (you can ask them to show you during their live session a particular product in their cart/bag and ascertain if you like what you see before buying)! So, I got a packet of la la at RM7 (for 400g) to try just to see if they're any good or if the freshness is of an acceptable standard.
At first glance, I was pretty happy with the size of the la la I got which turned out to be a lot bigger than I expected (even bigger than the ones I once bought from the wet market). But I was also disappointed that they came with quite a few broken shells. That, I think, was due to the packaging...vacuumed sealed and packed only in plastic (and not in a box), so it could have been crushed by other (heavier) products on top of it during the delivery process. I rinsed them again (even though they claim the la la have been prewashed and ready for cooking) and made sure I picked out all the broken shells before cooking.
If your la la is fresh, you'll need only the simplest cooking method to bring out its flavour. I wanted to imitate the one I had at Restoran Stadium Negara and that is to stir-fry them in garlic and chillies.
You start by sauteeing a few slices of garlic in some oil. Some places I find like to saute them in a lot of shredded ginger (which I'm not fond of even though I love ginger) as I find that too much of it interferes with the original taste of the la la actually. We obviously know the reason why eateries add so much julienned ginger and that is to mask the fishy flavour, if any, in case the la la is not at its optimum freshness. I prefer to use ginger slices (for that purpose) so that I don't end up with mouthfuls of ginger.
Once you smell the aroma of ginger, you can add in your chopped garlic (I used 5 big cloves) and bird's eye chillies (I used 5 cili api as well).
Saute the aromatics for a few seconds before adding the la la. Cover (and shake) the saucepan to let the la la steam and it'll just need a minute or so to cook. Season with salt and white pepper (I used a pinch of chicken stock as well).
Drizzle a splash of shaoxing wine (I added a little water as I wanted a bit of sauce) and bring it to a boil to let the alcohol burn off. It should take only a few seconds.
The next step is optional if you're not a fan of coriander...but since I am, I threw a bunch of chopped coriander into the pot, switch off your stove, give it a good stir and pour onto a plate. I served it with even more fresh coriander on top.
Taste wise, I was happy with the acceptable freshness and size of the la la. Of course I was hoping for the la la to be a bit more plump but that's not always possible with la la we buy from the market. Hawkers can get hold of la la that's super fresh and plump as they have their regular suppliers who bring them the freshest catch. There's no denying that the aromatics of ginger, garlic and bird's eye chillies all played a part in enhancing the freshness and taste of the la la. The fragrance from the abundant garlic (make sure you don't get them too browned as you want to taste the garlicky flavours and not the crispiness of it in this dish) and heat from the bird's eye chillies were the flavour contributors to the dish.
I like the freshness the Chinese parsley brings to the dish as well which can only happen when it's homecooked as the ingredient is not favoured by many...that's why most eateries don't use it. It's more frequently used as a garnish on top of a dish (rather than in the dish itself) which you can push aside if you're averse to it (like my family would always do).
The five bird's eye chillies that I used gave quite a kick of spiciness to the la la, so if you want it less spicy, please use less (like three). Also, if you wish to not bite into one (by accident) or wish to pick them out, the chopped coriander will make that task a little harder (so omit the coriander though I had no problem picking them out either). :P
The stir-fried la la made for a nice light lunch (for me) with half a bowl of rice. Seeing that I was pretty pleased with the la la I bought from BDB, I'll certainly get them again but will need to get two packets for the two of us (my husband is not a fan of la la)...and omit the coriander! ^_~
I'll be picking out those garlic and bird's eye chili bits from your dish if I were your guest, haha! I always prefer restaurants to use sliced garlic or in whole bulb instead of chopped garlic so that I can pick them out easier, LOL.
ReplyDeleteYour dish certainly looked like restaurant standard!
Oh, thank you...you're too kind to say that. I do pick out the cili api too coz biting into too many of them is too spicy. You pick out the garlic too? I know you use garlic in the cooking of your dishes...but you don't like if there's too much of it? I feel whole cloves of garlic don't infuse the dish with as much garlicky flavours as chopped garlic would. ^_~
DeleteI really love to eat lala, cooked in any way, be it soupy, stir fried or spicy belacan styled. I am surprised that you could order them and delivered fresh to your door step. I know that wet markets do not always have fresh and nice ones like what you bought.
ReplyDeleteThe funny thing is that I love to eat all types of shell fishes except siham/clams. 😂😂 I will try to eat and appreciate the clams. I love any dishes cooked with lots of garlic. Bring on!
Since the pandemic, you can have almost anything delivered these days...from fresh seafood to Chinese herbs to dried goods, even stinky stuff like belacan and salted fish.
DeleteYeah, my son also likes la la but not siham. I think it's the blood taste that turns some people off with siham, after all, they're called blood cockles for a reason. That spicy belacan style you mentioned must be kam heong la la which is my son's favourite style of having la la. ^_~
Ginger, garlic and coriander - that is a magic combo, so aromatic and even as someone who is indifferent towards lala, I would happily dig in and korek as much garlic and coriander and put on my rice hah..hah... Well, you nailed a very popular dish, so you can cook this anytime and enjoy it at home whenever you can get good fresh suppy of lala!
ReplyDeleteYes, it's an aromatic combo for sure (for people like us who love coriander). You bet I'll be ordering the la la again...and will try to experiment/cook it in different ways. ^_~
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